Sewing machine presser foot



y 1963 TADAO YOSHIDA 3,

SEWING MACHINE PRESSER FOOT Filed Aug. 18. 1961 ADA osmaA United States Patent Office 3,098,450 Patented July 23, 1963 3,098,460 SEWING MACHINE PRESSER F001 Tadao Yoshida, 339 I l-chrome, Suwada-maehi, Icliikawa-shi, Chiba-lien, Japan Filed Aug. 18, 1961, Ser. No. 132,407 1 Claim. (Cl. 112235) This invention relates to sewing machines and, more particularly, to a special purpose presser foot for sewing hidden slide fastener tapes to garment material.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a presser foot for securing hidden slide fastener tapes to garment material on a sewing machine in a fast, eflicient, and simple manner.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a single presser foot assembly which can be attached to the presser foot support post of a sewing machine and selectively adjusted to secure both sides of the cooperating pair of slide fastener tapes to the garment material without time consuming replacement of parts or disassembly of the accessory unit.

All of the foregoing and still further obiects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from a study of the following specification, taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a presser foot assembly made in accordance with the present invention in actual use;

FIGURE 2 is a bottom plan view of the presser foot shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE '3 is a front elevational view, partly in section, of certain parts of the device shown in the operating position of FIGURE 1; and

FIGURE 4 is a view similar to FIGURE 3, showing the parts in an adjusted position for sewing the left slide fastener tape strip to the garment material.

Referring now to the drawing, a presser foot assembly made in accordance with the present invention is shown to include a base or leg 14 having a groove 12 for receiving the presser foot mounting post of the sewing machine therewithin. This base 14 includes a head 16 having a laterally extending T-shaped slot 17 that slidably receives a correspondingly shaped T-head 13 of a presser foot element 20.

As is more clearly shown in FIGURES 2 to 4 of the drawing, the presser foot element 20 includes a longitudinal groove 22 in the sole of the foot that serves as a guide for slidably receiving the strip elements 23a, 12 of the right and left slide fastener tapes, respectively, therewithin.

The forward end of the presser foot element 20 is provided with a laterally extending opening 24 which extends beyond the lateral sides of the groove 22 at each end. This aperture 24 receives the reciprocating needle 25 of the sewing machine therethrough in all adjusted positions of the presser foot element 20, as will be hereinafter more fully described.

The head 16 of the presser foot assembly has an internal pocket 26 within which a ball detent 28 is supported for sliding and rolling movement into engagement with the upper surface of the T-shaped member 18 of the presser foot element 20 under the action of a compression coil spring 30. The upper surface of the T-shaped member 18 of the presser foot element is provided with a pair of laterally spaced apart indents 32a, 32b, each of which is adapted to releasably receive the detent 28 to secure the presser foot element in a laterally adjusted position relative to the base 12.

In actual use, the base 14 is rigidly secured upon the presser foot mounting post of the sewing machine. For attaching the right fastener strip 23a to the garment material, the presser foot element 20 is shifted to the left, as shown in FIGURE 3, so that the ball detent 28 will engage Within the indent 22a of the presser foot T-shaped member 18, thus positioning the slide fastener elements 23a to the left side of the reciprocating needle 25 which is received Within the right end of the aperture 24 for sewing engagement with the slide fastener strip along the right side of the strip elements 23a. In applying the left slide fastener tape, the presser foot element 20 is shifted to the right, as shown in FIGURE 4, so that the ball detent 28 engages the indent 32b, thus causing the guide groove 28 to position the slide fastener elements 33b to the right of the reciprocating needle 25 which is received within the left end of the elongated aperture 22.

It will thus be recognized that in accordance with the present invention, a presser foot assembly has been provided which will facilitate the attachment of both the right and left sides of the slide fastener tapes to the garment material simply by shifting laterally the position of the presser foot element 20 relative to the base 12, which actually shifts the guide groove 22 relative to the needle 25.

It will be noted, accordingly, that the instant presser foot assembly comprises a leg and a laterally shiftable foot, the foot having (1) a longitudinal groove which extends upwardly from the sole thereof which accommodates the slide fastener elements, and (2) a needle passthru slot or opening which allows the needle to secure the tape to the article to which it is being attached.

While this invention has been described with particular reference to the construction shown in the drawing, it is to be understood that such is not to be construed as imparting limitations upon the invention, which is best defined by the claim appended hereto.

Having thus described my invention, 1 claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

A presser foot, used in combination with a presser support post of a sewing machine, for securing concealed slide fastener tapes to garment materials, comprising a base for attachment to said presser foot support post, a presser foot element slidably carried by said base for lateral movement between laterally spaced apart sewing positions, a longitudinal groove provided on the under end surface thereof for guiding a strip of the slide fastener element, an internal pocket formed in the under end surface of said base and opening at said surface, a spring disposed in said pocket, a ball detent disposed in said pocket, said ball detent being pushed outwardly by said spring, a pair of laterally spaced apart indents formed in the upper surface of said presser foot element, whereby said presser foot element is restrained at desired positions in relation to said base, and a needle passthrough aperture of laterally elongated shape formed in said presser foot element and communicating with said longitudinal groove for guiding the fastener strips.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 822,340 Bivins June 5, 1906 2,909,136 Dixon et al. Oct. 20, 1959 3,003,444 Gary Oct. 10, 1961 3,024,751 Burgess Mar. 13, 1962 

